Today’s entry is for a nice, seasonal ingredient – in Miami! Mangoes are everywhere and my neighborhood – Buena Vista East – is full of mango trees. These were ataulfo mangoes, small oval mangoes with a hook on one end. They are sweeter, smaller, and less fibrous than the more common Tommy Atkins mango.

@bouchon2 posted mango ice cream, and it sounded so good, I had to make it. But I wanted to do something a little different. So I looked for mango ginger ice cream recipes, and I found this one for mango ginger buttermilk ice cream at Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen. I just happened to have mangoes, ginger, and buttermilk in the refrigerator, so I was sold.

This does not require any cooking. It comes together quickly and easily.

I made it on a Sunday night, but I let it ripen in the freezer for 2 days, and then served it for a dinner party with my friends. It was so incredibly good. I don’t think I had ever had mango ice cream before, although I love mango lassi when I go out for Indian food. The buttermilk gave it just the right tang. And of course, buttermilk is low in fat, but still creamy.

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I grew up in New England, and have only lived anywhere else for about 5 years. You would think I would have eaten ramps before in my life. Especially at Girl Scout camp, where I tried fiddleheads a few times. But no, I wait until I move to Florida, where they don’t grow, to decide I would like to try them. Of course, for a long, long time, I did not eat leeks, onions, scallions, any of those things. Thank God my tastes have changed.

So, anyway, it’s ramp season, but they do not grow in Miami. So, I mail-ordered some from Earthy Delights. I’m sorry, I know it wasn’t very locavore of me. But they are healthy! They have vitamins C and A, iron, fiber, and all those nice anti-cancer sulfur compounds.

This month’s Bon Appétit had some great recipes. I found a few other great recipes, and I made one up – Gnudi with Tomato, Pea, and Ramp Sauce. So I thought I would share them with you.

Ramps and Buttermilk Biscuits with Cracked Coriander

Ramp and Sausage Risotto

Scrambled Eggs with Ramps, Morels, and Asparagus

Seared Salmon with Linguine and Ramp Pesto

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From Chadzilla

Apparently, people liked this idea. So here is the next installment. The blog: Chadzilla

This time, I chose a blog that is not quite so well-known. I don’t know exactly how I found this website, although it had something to do with the South Beach Food and Wine Festival. He is, I’m pretty sure, a chef at the Key Biscayne Ritz-Carlton. He’s local, for me, but I don’t know him. He doesn’t talk about himself much on his blog. It is a chef blog, as opposed to a food blog. He experiments with sous-vide and emulsions and gels. If you’re looking for a recipe for banana-eel ice cream, it’s there. But this recipe for chocolate crackers with sea salt is simplicity itself. And really, really good. I will definitely be making this again!

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